After winning his heat with a time of 45.18 seconds he came third in the semi-final with a personal best time of 44.97.

If Solomon had placed second in his semi-final, he would have automatically won a place in the gold medal race.

There was a nervous wait through two more semi-finals before Solomon found out he would progress to final as the fastest non-automatic qualifier.

702 ABC Sydney's Adam Spencer spoke to Steven's father Michael Solomon right after the race.

"Unbelievable, he came back strong. He was running fifth on the final bend. He's just come back so strong, he's run two [personal bests] in the last two days," Michael said.

"I didn't think he would get third. If you look at the records of the other guys, he was going to be lucky to get a fourth," he said.

"Everything fell in his favour. On the day, anything can happen," he said.

Michael Solomon told Adam Spencer that he doesn't speak to his son before the races.

"We'll have a quick chat [on the phone] tonight and we'll see him after the race tomorrow," Michael said.

Adam also asked Michael what his son was like away from the track.

"From a young age he was a troublemaker because he hates to lose. He's not graceful with his father, but he's graceful with others. Every time I beat him, when I could beat him, it drove him mad, so maybe I had a little hand in [the result] today," Michael said.

Steven Solomon has been involved in some controversy in the lead up to the games after he was selected ahead of the more experienced runner John Steffensen.

"This has not crossed his mind and I can tell you that Steve has remained focussed" Michael said.

"When the Steffenson issue raised its head Steve said to me 'Dad, the selectors have shown faith in me, I'm going to run my race, it doesn't matter what else happens.'" Michael said.

When asked how Steven would prepare for the final, Michael Solomon told Adam Spencer that his son would give it his all.

"Who knows what'll happen tomorrow," he said.

The Men's 400 metres final is this morning at 6:30AM AEST. It will be broadcast live on 702 ABC Sydney.